The LuZa CBD team, from left: Tj Schoenborn, Crystal Schoenborn, Jake Schoenborn and Lacy Nuefer. The business began three years ago and has multiple locations throughout the state.(Photo: Courtesy of LuZa CBD)

FOND DU LAC – As CBD products take off in the state, LuZa CBD Wellness Centers are offering an experience tailored to customers and their ailments.

The business began three years ago when Tj and Crystal Schoenborn — owners of Victoria's Pet Nutrition at 14 N. Main St. — went to a birthday party in Florida and met a man who made CBD oils for pets. Taking the oil back to Fond du Lac, they gave samples to customers they knew had pets with pain, anxiety and seizures. The customers came back and requested more.

“It was overwhelming,” said Tj Schoenborn. “We couldn’t keep on it on the shelves.”

With no placebo able to cause the same results, said Schoenborn, he began doing his own research, and asked if it was usable for people, too. While his seller didn’t make a product for humans, he referred Schoenborn to a manufacturer in Florida. Together, they created a CBD product to sell at Victoria’s — not realizing it would become another independent business, he said.

As with the pet oils, product moved off the shelves quickly. The Schoenborns began educating themselves on the other parts of a cannabis plant, including terpenes — the quality which produces an odor — and cannabinoids — “the active chemicals in medical marijuana” which research suggests can help reduce anxiety, relieve pain, reduce inflammation, according to WedMD.

After traveling to Colorado and spending months learning about the processes of farming and extracting, the Schoenborns left the Florida manufacturer and started their own business based out of Colorado.

Then, when Crystal Schoenborn found a lump in her breast, Tj Schoenborn reached out to the biochemists in Colorado with whom he works to see if there were any cannabinoids that would be beneficial and could help. Although the lump turned out to be noncancerous, it started the couple on a new venture of working to isolate various cannabinoids and create compounds specifically for a person and the conditions he or she faces.

This product is called LuZa CBD “Made for Me,” and is the business’ “custom formulation service,” said Schoenborn. This means if there is a compound requested, LuZa and the 250 practitioners across the country who are part of its network will work for a client’s need and bottles will be made on an individualized basis.

Since opening, the business had grown to include multiple lines of product used to help people in a variety of ways, such as anxiety, pain, sleep and more — none for recreational use. Each product is grown in Evergreen, Colorado, where LuZa contracts with an extraction lab. They are then sent to a lab in Madison, where the Schoenborns currently are based.

"LuZa Full Spectrum +" has additional cannabinoids to make it more potent, as well as additional terpenes, while "LuZa Broad Spectrum" has three to four cannabinoids along with terpenes and can be utilized by people who need to pass a drug test, as it has zero percent THC. The other products are legal and do not surpass the threshold of .3 percent THC threshold set forth by laws.

"LuZa Enhanced" features various compounds that can help promote heath via a healthy immune system; the heart, cells, brain and nervous system; and overall well-being. There are also "LuZa Topical" CBD products, such as CBD pain or face cream, and massage oil.

The third line the Schoenborns offer is what they consider their economy line: "UnTamed CBD." To allow all to afford it, the product is the is available at a lower price than the other compounds but does not have the same terpenes or cannabinoids as the Full Spectrum +, said Schoenborn.

To help customers find the best product for them, the Schoenborns and trained staff are available to assist across the business’ multiple LuZa CBD Wellness Centers. Locations include Fond du Lac and Wausau, and soon Chilton and West Bend.

In the Fond du Lac area, the products can be found at the front of Victoria’s Pet Nutrition. Many are ready for immediate purchase, while staff can work with customers to start the process for custom-made products. A consultation will take place over the phone, and the products take one to two weeks to be in-hand.

In a couple of months, QR codes will be on each product so that customers can scan them and see the results of testing from a third-party lab out of Massachusetts. Not only does the testing show cannabinoids and terpenes, but also if there is any contamination or pesticides, so customers can know they are buying a pure product, said Schoenborn.

Also available is the network of 250 practitioners, with various specialties, who can offer their services to those using the products. In Wisconsin alone, the company allows customers to work with six different clinics.

It is the totality of this work — from growing to customer result — that makes it satisfactory, said Schoenborn.

"It is amazing to be able to make a living creating products that impact and change peoples' lives," he said